Ok, I think that at some point you have to get away from just terrain building and start to actually get some models to play, even if it's only low point battlers, kill teams or using skirmish 40k rule-sets, and so, I got myself some minis and started working on them.

I know now I like to build terrain more than painting/converting models, but it needs to be done right.

Just a note, I'm from Brazil. This means two things; first, my English may not be good sometimes, and you guys will have to make an effort, but please bear with me; and second, models take a long time to get here. A LONG TIME, so I tend to work on the same models over and over until I'm satisfied. This is good and bad, since I tend to get a better finish piece, and it's bad because sometimes I ruin said piece trying something new...

I'll start this plog with my termagant test color scheme, and some IG. Click for a close up.

I know, the primer is too thick (I used a really bad spray primer, ended up covering al the details) and the brown on the carapace wasn't going along at all with the red, he looked like he was dipped in a puddle of mud after completion, so I got it ow and was painting them just with a cadmium red carapace.

But then, I tryed this, and boy do I like this color scheme.

Violet and magenta carapace, dark grey body and teal claws/feet

The IG

My IG army will be a tallarn army, you gotta love those Arab little metal dudes. I got myself an infantry squad (second one is on the way) and primed them white. Also, I forgot to take a picture of them all. Have some patience with me, I'm new with this plog thing.

Also, I started working on some storm troopers for the tallarn amy, and using SM scout bodies and arms with WGF heads, I got these guys. They look so much bigger than the tallarn it's almost funny to compare.

And as a last update, a friend of mine scratchbuilt and sold to a Leman Russ. I bought some bits from ebay and made it more 40k (it had NO bits whatsoever, only a trooper glued on top, it was only shaped as a LR).

The yellow one was the one I purchased. I gave it some camo netting as I had to remove the sponsors and they left a hideous scar on my tank. People told me it would be impossible to paint the net and the tank, but I found it wasn't so bad. Boring, but not so bad, but more on that when I upload the painted pictures.

I forgot to take pictures of the whole process, but the end result ain't so bad.

C&C are welcome, and just stopping to say hi is also appreciated. I'll explain more things if needed, right now I have to get back to work as I'm creating this topic during my working hours =p

Last edited by balangaz on Wed Feb 15, 2012 10:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!

BewareOfTom wrote:wow I love those IG! never thought of using scouts like that, look much better :3

This was fast lol

I'm actually doing an army but with two separate factions inside. One are the normal Tallarn, desert camo, IG vehicles, all those things. The other faction are the NO NAME YET, a mean group of guys with better and more technological equipment that hunts the native Tallarn.

When I get them on the table, I'll use them as storm troopers, but I inherited a bunch of odd pieces of models that I'll turn into a 'renegade evil army'. Also, I can play them in skirmish 40k games (death squad and in the emperor's name) as two separate armies =p

For example, they already have a special Valkirye, this one. It's not painted yet, and will be featured in this plog.

I love the Hunter Killer model, and it will look great when painted, and even though I won't be able to use them in competitive games, whem I pay casual I think they will have no problem with it, as it's about the same size as a standard Valkirye.

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!

I bought just the heads and flamers so I could make meltaguns out of them. I'll post a pistorial of that conversion later. I paid 10 bucks for 100 heads, with 36 being that model and 36 another useful masked model. The rest was crap.

The netting was a trial run, I never tried that before and was really hoping for the best, glad you liked it =p

EDIT: Google's a life saver. I don't usualy say google it since I have nothing better to do when I'm at the office and it's a pleasure to post while working lol

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!

Guise, got a problem with my tank and need a hand, so what to know what you guys think. Got to warn you guys that the pic's crap since I lent my camera and will only get it back sunday...

Well, I painted my tanks a sandy grey which I like. Problem is I think it lacks color, and the netting did only so much, so I painted some details but I don't think it's good...

The grey parts will be flaked out paint either showing bare metal or rust, don't know yet (don't have any metal paints lol)

I really like the rust effect, first time using pigments, shame I don't have any way to take a better picture... What do I do, leave only the rusted exhausts and paint the details, put less soot on the back? What you guys think?

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!

Ok, my camera's back but the lighting is atrocious (always an excuse, I know...), I'll try to take more pictures tomorrow morning, when the light is better and details/color can be picked up more.

The Nids

I'm attempting a Swarmlord conversion using Trygon parts, so first thing my Swarmlord need is a pair of legs, here's the beginning on lefty.

It's still on grey stuff, so I'll cover it in green stuff after the skeleton's finished to add details.

The IG

Here's the finished Scratch Leman Russ, painted with chipped paint. When from afar you can hardly see the chipped, so it's rather real. I'm really proud of the lenses, but the lack of light didn't picked the details very well...

I have a bunch of Tallarn (3 infantry squads) but I'm afraid to ruin them all by painting them (they look so pretty on white primer), so I'm practicing on Cadians. I know metal models are easier to strip, but even so...Before going desert camo on him I painted a night theme Cadian, with grey cloth and dark blue pieces, but as I didn't like the end result I just painted over him.

The desert camo didn't end up like I wanted it - I wanted small dots or dashes over the white but I couldn't paint that firmly nor I have a micron pen, so splotches it is. It's my second human model and first camo attempt, so at least I know I have lots of room for improvement!

I also tried a OSL from his rifle and charged ammo packs, which I'll use on the visor.

I tried to get this camo scheme:

Ended up with this...

Front

Back

Close, but no cigar. Better luck next time.

Now, for the Haridrins, here's my first finished model. I just don't know why, but I sprayed with matt varnish and still it looks like it's wet! I don't know why, tomorrow I'll just go buy a new varnish and apply again on the piece...

I tried to create a strong shading effect, with a strong highlight/shadow and a simple blend. The camera showed me that I failed to complete my task. On his knives and pectoral plate I tried a NMM which kinda work but didn't turned out great.

So, here's Nasir.

Front pic, I wanted to give him a purple detail but decided that his blueish cloak would be enough to differentiate him on the table

Chest details, you can't see very well but I tried to make the center brighter

You can see the NMM a little better on this dagger

highlighted cloak

Little fluff fact: In Hadrinian culture, body-guards are trained from childhood, and only the most resilient make through without being re-assigned to new positions. Other then body-guard duty they are trained in assassination runs, and their test to be considered fit to go into battle protecting their officers is to bring an empty helmet from a Barian (the other ethnic group on the planet).

Archive photo: Hadrinian Assassin preparing his strike (click for close up on assassin and target).

Finally, I took a picture from my tank during the day (where mistakes can be more easily picked up) to show the lenses details and chipped paint on the front. I'm working on the tracks using manticore leftovers but since I have no metallic paint to use on them I decided no to glue them.

Also, I need a name for my tank, after all what is something without a name on 40k universe?

C&C welcome, I always want to hear how can I improve my technique.

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!

Really nice scratch build on the leman russ dude. The camo netting came out great. The netting on the sides looks really good but the barrel seems too perfect. It would be nice to see some hanging here or there or even mish moshed up a bit. Right now it sort of looks like the barrel needed some field dressings.

I like this also, looks good. I would keep the teal claws on the lighter side. Maybe mixing it with some of the gray body color for the highlights.

Where did you get this? It's going to be perfect if I ever get around to making a Gue'vesa army.
Edit!: The image link contained all the info I needed to know. Except... How much did it cost?

The chipped paint on the tank really helped break it up a bit. I like the monotoned look of it, adds some realism. I feel like you went a little too far with the rusty exhausts. Maybe if the rest of the tank was that weathered but it sort of stands out a bit. You could try stippling some of the base color back over the rust to fill it in more. If they're pigments you should also be able to wipe them off. If not with your bare finger try a cotton swab with some alchohol(very little).
The lenses look better on the later pic too. Nice work, try glazing the optics with the darkest color between layers to help the colors blend a bit better. (Glaze: super thinned paint but still thicker than a wash, normally. Think of it as a filter layer)

I like the end result of the tank, again the single color really works on IG tanks and the camo netting was just enough to break it up.

I don't know whats going on with the glossy cloak dude. Did you use inks?

The camo isn't that bad. I would recommend to go for longer stripe shapes rather than the smaller rounded ones there. Should be easy with a small enough brush and really light hand. For the smaller dots try thinning your paint just a bit more and doing a few layers for each dot. should help the paint get off the brush without loading it onto the mini.
Camo isn't easy dude, I've tried and gave up for the time being. MrDee has some inspirational camo here in this thread.

Blue wrote:Really nice scratch build on the leman russ dude. The camo netting came out great. The netting on the sides looks really good but the barrel seems too perfect. It would be nice to see some hanging here or there or even mish moshed up a bit. Right now it sort of looks like the barrel needed some field dressings.

Hahaha it's field formal ware =p I'll try to ragged it up a little bit.

I like this also, looks good. I would keep the teal claws on the lighter side. Maybe mixing it with some of the gray body color for the highlights.

I didnt understand the keep the teal claws on the lighter side. You mean like brightening the teal on the outer sides of the models with grey so it looks more highlighted?

Blue wrote:
Where did you get this? It's going to be perfect if I ever get around to making a Gue'vesa army.
Edit!: The image link contained all the info I needed to know. Except... How much did it cost?

With the dollar costing what it does today, I payed 25 usd with shipping for each one (I have 2). It's an old toy, came out when Terminator 4 was released, now I can only find it on our online auction site (did a check just now, it's expensive, it's costing 40 usd, but again, all toys are expensive here in brazil...).

Blue wrote:The chipped paint on the tank really helped break it up a bit. I like the monotoned look of it, adds some realism. I feel like you went a little too far with the rusty exhausts. Maybe if the rest of the tank was that weathered but it sort of stands out a bit. You could try stippling some of the base color back over the rust to fill it in more. If they're pigments you should also be able to wipe them off. If not with your bare finger try a cotton swab with some alchohol(very little).
The lenses look better on the later pic too. Nice work, try glazing the optics with the darkest color between layers to help the colors blend a bit better. (Glaze: super thinned paint but still thicker than a wash, normally. Think of it as a filter layer)

I like the end result of the tank, again the single color really works on IG tanks and the camo netting was just enough to break it up.

I'll try the glazing lenses technique, this is my trial tank, that's why it have it all.

The exhausts are as real as you get, but that doesn't work on wargaming models, I'll scrape some pigments (it's varnished, the maid isn't very careful with anything) and paint some of the original color on it.

Blue wrote:I don't know whats going on with the glossy cloak dude. Did you use inks?

The camo isn't that bad. I would recommend to go for longer stripe shapes rather than the smaller rounded ones there. Should be easy with a small enough brush and really light hand. For the smaller dots try thinning your paint just a bit more and doing a few layers for each dot. should help the paint get off the brush without loading it onto the mini.

Camo isn't easy dude, I've tried and gave up for the time being. MrDee has some inspirational camo here in this thread.

I'm using cheap acrylic paint, some vallejo and home-made wash, on this model but no ink, maybe it's the home-made wash that sin't sitting very well... I'll try to coat it with gloss varnish and matt again to see if it works.

i'll try to re-do the camo tonight and post new pics later, I spent the day thinking of a new way to paint this desert camo that I think might work. Also, I'll take a look again on MrDee's thread, last time I saw that it wasn't looking for imput on his camo scheme, was just admiring =p

Blue wrote:Nice work so far bud, keep up the hard work!

Thanks man, your desert tau was really inspiring =p

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!

balangaz wrote:
I didnt understand the keep the teal claws on the lighter side. You mean like brightening the teal on the outer sides of the models with grey so it looks more highlighted?

No... I just feel that using straight teal would be a bit too stark and they may wind up looking like your nids went to the nail salon. Mixing in some gray to the teal will dull it down a bit and may make it appear more organic. It was just a thought...

balangaz wrote:The exhausts are as real as you get, but that doesn't work on wargaming models, I'll scrape some pigments (it's varnished, the maid isn't very careful with anything) and paint some of the original color on it.

I agree, it's the size...
Instead of scraping it off try grabbing an old brush and stippling some base color on top of the pigments. Just to push it slightly back into the mini.

balangaz wrote:The exhausts are as real as you get, but that doesn't work on wargaming models, I'll scrape some pigments (it's varnished, the maid isn't very careful with anything) and paint some of the original color on it.

I agree, it's the size...
Instead of scraping it off try grabbing an old brush and stippling some base color on top of the pigments. Just to push it slightly back into the mini.

Gotta say, I like the results... Lots of 'drybrushing' (not proper drybrush, place the paint and using a hard bristle brush scrape it out) and new rusting over it and it looks great...

lefty turned out good...

but righty's just awesome.

I'm dyeing some more gauze to work on the barrel's netting.

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!

I have been following your work from the IG outpost to this and i must tell you that you do a really nice job making some nice conversions with your IG models. Also i love the idea you had with the scouts thanks for the link to the helmets bye the way.

The Stars Await, Let us now wander together.

Well then, this is rather entertaining
Chaos Marines - 5,000 IIIIIIIIII

@Darkned1ight Thanks man! I do like to create terrain pieces more than painting models, but after some time I had to try this side of the hobby =p yw, and if I can help with anything else please ask.

The IG - Hadrinian Tank

Only one more update until I'm done with this tank, only the tracks to go.

I used gauze again, but this time I dyed it before (first yellow, then raw umber) and I think it's pretty... pretty... good. Also, used lots (4 layers) of PVA glue so the gauze could be hard enough not to suffer any damage from transportation.

The Tyranids - Hive Fleet ???

Well, got a color scheme I'm happy with, and even though it takes a lot of time per model (about 40 min to 1 hour) it made me not want to destroy the mini.

I didn't want organic looking tyranids as I don't see them really organic at all. They are aliens, and I don't like imagining alien life bound to terrain features... Also, some colors are just too nice to not be used, like purple, teal and lime green.

I think that there is no color bleeding anywhere on the mini, and color combine together nice for tabletop gaming IMO, but what do you think?

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!

Ok, I spent a week and I almost finished painting my first 10 termagants, but I wanted to see how this scheme and all the details would look on a larger model, so I got my future Swarmlord and got to it. My Tyrant arms should be arriving soon (4 right sword arms and 2 left whip arms), and I should be able to buy a Trygon head on eBay sometime soon...

What's funny is that I spend 1 whole night to paint 2 termagants (I paint the pieces separated), ow 1 Trygon body. Judging by the size difference, I must be doing something wrong...
Here's the pictures - This is my first attempt to edit the pictures prior to uploading them. I just cleaned the background (it was almost all white anyway). I forgot to edit the last picture, so you guys can tell me what type you like more, for future references.

Lower abdomen, front

Lower abdomen, back

Torso, right side

Torso, left side

Torso, carapace
The vents kinda suck since it was my first try and I should have experimented on a test piece first, but from afar it's ok

"Whole" body assembled

Bifurcated Tail
This is what you get when a Thundertusk and a Maloc get together.

Dry-fitting the tail
It's huge, but that was what I was going for with this Swarmlord. I intend to magnetize this for transport and also I want to be able to use my Swarmlord as a Trygon/Maloc/Prime

Oi, ya git! Get ya lazy arse roight into our Group Builds! Be da best Mek and loot all da pieces!